Do you remember jumping jacks?

When I was in high school there were exercises that most workout videos don't even cover anymore. One of them was jumping jacks. It makes you wonder if those old time exercises were doing us some harm. How many of you saw those old vibrating belt exercisers? I was 6 years old when I saw a neighbor using one. She also had one of those machines that you sat on and it had wooden rollers. Here is a picture of one:

I wonder what kind of exercise they were thinking about when that machine was developed?

I suppose it is along the same lines as supplements. Do you remember the oyster shell pills and the skin scrubs made from dead sea salt and apricot pits? All in the mane of health and beauty. When will we learn?

Causes of hair loss

There are many reasons for hair loss. Genetic factors such as male pattern baldness to nutritional deficiencies can all play apart of hair loss.

When I was in my teens, there was a short period of time that I woke up each morning with huge clumps of hair, my hair, on my pillow. It started suddenly and just as suddenly stopped. It could have been caused by stress or hormones or even being sick. Thank goodness my mother did not panic and start buying all kinds of hair loss products. No doubt if she did and I used one and my body stopped shedding hair on its own, the product would get the credit instead of just my body going back to being right on its own again.

Before you start investing in hair loss products, find out if your body is out of whack in some way. Eliminate the natural causes of hair loss before you start using any kind of product.

Bone density and suppliments

Did you know that calcium supplements do not work? I bet that is a news item to you. I studied in the "Better Bone and Balance" program that is part of the Oregon State University bone lab. They found that eating calcium has very little to do with building bones. Bone density is increased by impact exercises and not what you eat.

Look up the bone lab studies on the OSU website and you will find lots of up to date information on how you can stop osteoporosis in as little as 6 weeks. 

Male health concerns

I normally don't write about male health simply because I am female. What prompted me to cover one health concern is the fact that most men seem to be obsessed with it. I am talking about ED or what used to be called impudence. The lack of libido seems to be the number one concern for most men that are not stressed out about other problems in their lives.

The inability to perform well in bed is often related to having something else on their minds. Thinking about money or lack of it is right up there with any concerns about size. Doubts about sexual performance will often hinder that performance.   

The business community has latched onto men's concerns of ED that a huge multi billion dollar business has cropped up in the last 15 years. Everything from Viagra pills to enlargement devices and surgery. Whole websites devoted to the subject of male enhancement reviews sales of pills are now the norm.

While I would love to say to those men to just not worry about your ED and it will go away, that is not always true. First and foremost talk to your doctor before embarking on a trail of trial and error when it comes to ED. Only then will everything get better.

Beware of over the counter supplements

While the majority of over the counter products for weight loss and general health improvement are mostly harmless there are a few that you should avoid. Supplements are often considered food products and are not regulated by the Drug Administration so you need to read the labels on those products. You need to understand what each chemical does to your body before you buy it. Some of the best weight loss supplements have huge amounts of caffeine or untested herbs as their main ingredients. So you need to do your homework and research each product before you put it into your body. The last thing you want to do is find yourself in the local ER because your body had an extreme reaction to a over the counter supplement. Since the government cannot or will not protect consumers against this type of product, then it is a definite "buyer beware" situation.